


of association

by Code16



Series: briar vine [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Beating, Enslaved Mages, First Meetings, Mage!Harold, Mage!John, Other, Torture by proxy, probably counts as torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 21:40:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9626723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Code16/pseuds/Code16
Summary: John meets Harold for the first time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in an enslaved mages world where both Harold and John are mages at the CIA.
> 
>  _Additional content note_ : moment of categorizable-as-ableism way of describing things.
> 
>  _World notes_ : Mages are under a lot of scrutiny and control when it comes to contact and communication with each other. Among other things, eyecontact, while it's usually permitted, might sometimes be forbidden, regarded as attempted secret communication, etc.
> 
> A spellframe is an item that holds a spell. An anchor frame or translocation frame holds magical information on a destination, such that a mage can translocate to it (as long as its within their range) without needing to have collected this information themselves ahead of time.
> 
> Enslaved mages wear collars that restrain their powers. ‘Permission’ refers to being allowed, and therefore able, to use them.

The minder shows up when John’s in line for midday. 

“19.” Being called out of a meal is generally not a good sign. The others give him looks, concern, commiserating. Trying to figure out what’s going on helps pretty much never (not that there’s really many options. Mission with someone impatient, or punishment. And the former tends to end in the latter before too long). His mind, too long habituated, still starts cycling through his day, the previous day. Trying to find what he might have done. 

Outside the door, the minder pulls out an anchor frame. “Take us over.” The punishment room’s nearly next door; no need to translocate there. Mission, then. Or else the scene of the crime first. He takes the frame. Feels permission and twists space around them.

 

Scene of the crime is probably out. Wherever they end up, he’s pretty sure he’s not been there before. (Could be more sure, if the place weren’t almost undistinctive. Another hall, another door, human signs about ‘restriction’, ‘do not enter’. Outside of ‘probably still at the CIA’, not much to go on, all together). 

The minder doesn’t open the door, types into her comm instead. After a moment the door swings open. “Inside.” John crosses through. 

Inside, the room looks like a smaller mages’ hall. Plain, windowless, bars and cabinet at a wall. Another minder’s standing by. Not surprised by them. Two floor desks stand near the middle of the room, food already set out on them. One’s empty; another mage sits at the other. Not eating yet. Eyes somewhere between the desk and John.

“Sit down.” That’s the other mage’s minder. The one who brought him leaves. John sits, follows the other mage’s lead and doesn’t touch the food. Looking at the room or the minder for hints of what might be going on here is almost certainly pointless; John looks at the other mage instead.

He’s older, without the build of a field mage or an army mage or someone else who’s done physical training. Wearing glasses, of all things - either he’s using a spellframe (at meals?) or he had an injury bad enough that healing couldn’t handle it. That’s - strikingly rare, especially for someone not used near combat.

“You can talk.” The minder’s still leaning on his wall, but John knows watchfulness when he sees it. “And eat.” John picks up his spoon. He’s not really sure what to say - the minder hadn’t said no names, but John’s pretty sure ‘who are you and what presumably top secret thing are you doing here’ would be a good way to get himself a beating after all. The other mage makes it easy for him - doesn’t say a word, barely even looks at John. John follows his lead again. Permission to talk during meals is usually a treat, but the other mage hasn’t seemed anything even close to pleased or rewarded-feeling. And John still has next to no idea what might be going on here. 

They finish the meal in silence. The other mage glances at his minder a few times, at John another few. Sets his bowl down about the same time John does. 

The minder hasn’t given any more orders. John knows he’s at a disadvantage in anticipating now. Is he to help clean up, like in a normal mages’ hall, or will the other mage do that, as he’d presumably set John’s desk and food out for him. Is this the end of - whatever this was - or is there more to come. 

The other mage tenses when the minder comes toward him, the more than the norm way that tends to mean ‘expecting a hit’ or else ‘gets that a lot’. But the minder doesn’t draw his shock stick or kick the desk over, just jerks his head at the wall where the cart is. “Clean up.”

That answers the first question, clear enough. John stays where he is as the other mage stands, picks up the bowls and spoons to bring to the cart, then the desks themselves to stack by the wall. John watches him move, field mage training barely enough to hide reaction. The other mage limps visibly when he walks, turns his body when most might turn their heads. Not like from something recent and still unhealed - the movement is different from that, as the sitting had been, and a familiarity more specific than the one that any mage learns for punishment and its fruits. Unhealable injury then, almost definitely - something to the brain hard enough to warp the body map healing relied on even as it tore through the body. Leaving its imprint, reforged in, irrevocable. And incredibly, inimitably rare.

The other mage doesn’t sit back down. The minder pulls his own comm out. A few minutes and the minder that had brought John walks back in (that answers the second question, probably). Looks over at him.     

“Get up.” John stands, waiting for the next order, the door, the frame to translocate back. Finds himself still looking at the other mage. He’s looking down, for a moment the kind of body language to him that makes John think he’s waiting for punishment (the thought out, at length kind, not a minder’s sudden anger) and isn’t particularly regretting it. (Not the best thing to show, if you could avoid it, though not that pretending remorse while holding resistance didn’t tend to end about as badly). 

“Three steps back.” That’s just to him. His body obeys automatically before his mind catches up; still isn’t quite there when the minder twists his arm behind his back and the other mage’s minder drives a shock stick into his stomach. He doubles over. Doesn’t collapse - they haven’t overclocked the shock stick to that point - but there’s more where it came from. His weight sends pain through his arm. Around the minder he can see the other mage again - head flown up now, any previous expression effaced for distressed agitation. 

“No, please, he didn’t-” The blows stop for a moment. The minder turns on the other mage. “You had your warning. You wanted to talk, you had your chance. Shut your mouth.” The other mage falls silent (not still). The shock stick takes John in the ribs, jams at the point of his hip before he’s got air back. 

He ends up on hands and knees, the minder releasing his arm at the last. The other minder’s foot nudges at him.

“Get up.” This time it takes effort. He struggles up, stands. “We’ll try this again next time.” That’s the other mage’s minder again. The other mage avoids John’s eyes. (That’s good. John’s even more sure of the amount he doesn’t know here, now, but ‘bad time for pushing secret communication suspicions’ is obvious as it gets.)

“Move.” That’s the minder who brought him, behind him still. John precedes her to the door, stops next to it to wait. 'Bad time for trying to grab another look' is also obvious as it gets. The stab of pain when he takes a step is counterpoint against temptation to curiosity. And yet still source thereof. (He might have thought curiosity would be beaten out of him by now. But of course he wouldn't be that lucky). He can't hear anything behind him, not the mage, not his minder. He walks through the door when told, takes the translocation frame when given. _ "Next time" _ .

**Author's Note:**

> 4/4/17 - minor content edit.
> 
> [My tumblr for these kinds of things](http://findundergrounddragoutofwater.tumblr.com). I love fandom social things, and anyone who feels like they might want to message etc me for any reason is encouraged to totally do so.


End file.
